


Right Here Beside You

by iamisaac



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Accidental Bonding, Anal Sex, Auror James Sirius Potter, Auror Partners, Auror Teddy Lupin, Community: hp_nextgen_fest, Dirty Talk, Harry Potter Next Generation, M/M, Mildly Dubious Consent, Pining, Unresolved Sexual Tension
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-30
Updated: 2017-10-30
Packaged: 2019-01-09 12:27:13
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 14,468
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12276459
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/iamisaac/pseuds/iamisaac
Summary: When Aurors Lupin and Potter are told to look into a Dark Potions ring, they don't anticipate running into a bonding spell. But now James can't go more than a metre or two from Teddy under any circumstances, and it (or possibly he) is bloody hard.





	Right Here Beside You

**Author's Note:**

> I owe thanks to the King for looking at this, and much to the Plum for a lot of good advice as well as betaing along the way. Thank you both; you are brilliant people.
> 
> Please see end notes for explanation of the dub-con warning if that concerns you.

"We just need to get a bit more information," Teddy said, flipping through pages of notes.

James was pacing up and down in their office. There wasn't really a large enough space for a decent pace, hemmed in as he was by the desks on one side and the overflowing filing cabinet on the other, but he was nonetheless doing his best. 

"No," he corrected, "we need to get going, check it out before they realise they've been rumbled."

Teddy looked up. "James..."

James narrowed his eyes. He'd heard that tone of voice from Teddy before, and it generally meant something he wasn't going to agree with. He might be more than half in love with the man (not that Teddy, thank Merlin, had the faintest idea of it) but that didn't mean he was going to let him walk all over him.

"Don't even think about trying that ‘senior partner' shit again. We've been working together eighteen months now. I'm not some wet-behind-the-ears greenhorn any more. And you _always_ want more info. We should go now."

"It's usually useful to be prepared," Teddy said mildly. But he looked back at his notes, and sighed. "Fine. It's not as if I can concentrate with you prowling up and down like a caged tiger."

"Lion," corrected James, with a grin.

Teddy rolled his eyes. "Once a Gryffindor.… So, come on. Let's rush headfirst into danger without knowing what we're up against."

"As you command."

They Apparated to the site of the alleged Dark Potions HQ (as the information they'd received had insisted on calling it), and immediately James could feel the Dark Magic surrounding him like a creeping poison. He shuddered.

"Yeah, know the feeling," Teddy agreed. "Shall we?"

James nodded. Wands drawn, they entered the building. It didn't look like anything special, despite the unpleasant feeling it was giving off; a dilapidated old place made of brick, with surprisingly little in the way of wards on the outside, and a wooden door with just one manual lock. Empty so far as people were concerned, the equipment they could see in the place was nonetheless enough to make it clear that it had certainly been in use for what their paperwork for the Ministry later would describe as ‘nefarious purposes'.

"We're going to have to check the lot, aren't we?" James asked with resignation.

Checking things was about as exciting as counting raindrops on a window pane, except with the potential of death or destruction if something turned out to be particularly nasty. Tedium with a side order of pain and death – just what he fancied on a Tuesday morning.

"You know the drill." Teddy sounded approximately as enthused as James felt.

It was hot and tiring work. Every cupboard had to be opened, everything catalogued in minute detail before it could be touched. More things were surprisingly free of the dark spells James had expected, given the feeling in the air. He'd anticipated curses and defensive magic to be littering the place, but it seemed not. Sweating profusely, and sulking a little bit – it might not be Teddy's fault that they had to be doing this, but he was _here_ and James was pissed off and there was no one else to blame – he turned.

"I'm taking these bloody robes off."

The Auror robes were supposed to be kept on at all times, partly because they had defensive magic woven into them, and partly so that were anyone to come across an Auror, they would know at once whom they were facing. The DMLE had experienced too many occasions on which Aurors had been hexed and the defendant had explained (with varying levels of truth) that they'd had no idea, truly, that this was an Auror – they'd just thought they themselves were under attack by a villain of some sort.

"You know we're..." Teddy turned around to give James the look that James had known was coming. It was almost worthy of Aunt Hermione in its ‘I'm disappointed in you' vibe, but Teddy trailed off. The sweat was pouring off James's forehead, and James wiped it away with his forearm. He knew his hair was protruding up every which way, and his shirt underneath the robes was soaked with sweat and sticking to his body in an unpleasantly clingy fashion. James had already ditched the robe, putting it carefully over a chair that he'd already checked. Teddy shrugged, expression dark and angry. "Oh, what the hell."

He looked away, and strode into the far corner of the room with angry steps.

"Teddy, stop!" James yelled, a bad feeling sweeping across him.

They'd left that corner until last, because it looked like the one with the most dangerous objects in it. Teddy half-turned, flinging an arm out in clumsy motion, and the movement – the movement he'd made because of James's shout, as James could only think afterwards – set off the spell. Teddy gave a helpless cry and collapsed to the floor. James (not panicking, determinedly not panicking, doing anything but panicking), grabbed his wand and cast some diagnostic spells, spells to make sure that going over to Teddy would not trigger anything further – and then rushed to his partner's side.

"Teddy… Teddy!"

James bit hard on his lip as he felt for Teddy's pulse. Still there. Teddy was breathing, too. Not dead then. Not dead. Just… James waved his wand, sending a Patronus for back up. This was bad. They'd fucked up. This shouldn't have happened. Wouldn't have happened if James hadn't insisted on coming before Teddy was ready. Insisted on breaking DMLE regulations despite knowing how much his casual ignoring of the rules upset Teddy. And now Teddy was lying unconscious on the floor, and fuck, fuck, _fuck_.

James cast all the healing spells he could think of that were safe for all occasions, anything which would help until the Healers could look after Teddy.

"Potter?"

Back up. Thank Merlin. James looked up at the two Aurors who had Apparated in.

"Lupin's injured; caught a bad spell. I can't work out what it is, but it's dissipated now. No danger to anyone else, according to the diagnostics I ran. But I don't know what's wrong with him." James was proud of the way he kept his voice steady. He could feel his heart thumping uncomfortably inside him, as if it wanted to escape his chest.

"And you're fine?" Perkins was anything but perky; a grizzled older man whose female partner, Grey – or ‘Lady Jane', as she was familiarly known in the department – was already casting on the room. He gave James a look. "Even without your robes?" he added grimly, and James knew he was going to be up in front of the boss about that one, not for the first time. The boss who always came down harder on James than he did on anyone else. But that didn't matter. Nothing mattered but Teddy being okay.

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine."

"Excellent. Put your robes back on, and get on with your job. Grey will help you. I'll get Lupin to St Mungo's."

He might not be the friendliest of Aurors, but Perkins was capable. James resisted the urge to ask to go with Teddy, check he was okay. He was an Auror. Danger was part of the job, and danger to others was also part of the job. He needed to get on with his own work.

"Thanks," James said briefly.

"Sure you're fine?"

James nodded, and stood up. Perkins took hold of Teddy, and Disapparated. For a second, all was fine – then the pain hit, and James could hear a voice screaming; vaguely knew it for his own. Twenty seconds later, to his utter relief, everything went black.

*

James came to, disorientated and confused, to find himself lying on his right side on a hospital bed with various people looking down on him. His father (still wearing _his_ Auror robes, James noted), Healer Lovegood – otherwise known as Luna, James's sister's Godmother – and Aunt Hermione. James frowned a little at the last; he wasn't sure what he'd done which might require Hermione's presence, whether in her auntly role or as an Unspeakable. Either way, it didn't look good.

Strangely enough, however, James felt absolutely fine. As if nothing was wrong in the slightest. And that was confusing as hell, because he'd also felt fine before. Until he'd suddenly been in the worst pain he'd ever experienced – and then blacked out.

"Erm, hello," he said, unsure where things were going.

"Jamie." Dad was bending over him, ruffling his hair like he was a kid. If James wasn't in trouble, then something really must be wrong with him, he thought uneasily.

The two women smiled and greeted him.

"How's Teddy?" James asked anxiously.

"Why don't you ask him?" his father suggested, his eyes flickering to the other side of James.

James, shocked, sat up and looked around. Turning his head, he saw that on his right was another hospital bed – weirdly, pressed right up against his own – and on it lay Teddy, pale but awake.

"Hey," Teddy said, giving him a faint smile.

"You all right?" James knew his voice came out stilted. He felt a bit uncomfortable – it had, after all, been basically his fault that the accident had occurred. Plus, the last interaction they'd had had been a disagreement.

"Um… yeah," Teddy said slowly. James noticed that Teddy's gaze had drifted from him and to the two women standing by the bedside. "Um..."

"What do you know that I don't know?" James asked suspiciously. "And, no offence, but why are our beds shoved together? It's not like there's not enough room in here to separate us. And I like you, but -" He was cut off.

"I think you might want to talk to Hermione and Luna about that." Teddy was no longer looking quite so pale. Flushed, almost.

"You're suffering from spell damage," Hermione said briskly, getting to the point before James could ask anything at all.

"I feel absolutely okay," James objected. "And that doesn't have anything to do with the bed thingy, anyway."

"Well, actually, it does," Luna said, giving him one of her dreamy smiles. She was a qualified and highly respected Healer, James knew – but she was also still capable of telling him the most ridiculous nonsense. As she went on, it seemed to be one of those occasions. "You're feeling all right because your bed is right next to Teddy's, James."

James frowned. "That doesn't make sense."

Luna's smile got wider. He suspected she heard that a lot. "Teddy seems to have walked into a Bonding Spell," she explained. "And then you were closest to him; were the first person to touch him. We're not quite sure what precisely triggered it, but it seems that when you're apart… well, you experienced the problem."

James blinked slowly, trying to take in what Luna was saying. He glanced quickly at his father's and Hermione's faces, waiting for one or other of them to reassure him that this was some sort of Luna nonsense; that he was quite well, and they'd put the beds like that because – oh, James didn't know… because he'd been so anxious about Teddy? Or something? Except they both looked serious.

"I'm..."

"Bonded to Teddy," Hermione confirmed, a slight frown on her face that she was clearly trying to hide.

"That's ridiculous." James looked round at Teddy for support. "That sort of thing doesn't exist. It's a myth. A joke." Everyone used to go on about them at Hogwarts; tease each other about who they'd like to be bonded to, who they fancied. His mate Connor had made jokes about who you'd be prepared to watch have a dump. It wasn't reality. It definitely wasn't the sort of thing which happened to James out of absolutely bloody nowhere. Especially not with the person who had, in his latter years at school, been the person in James's mind. Gods, this was all sorts of wrong. And anyway... "Why the fuck would a Dark Magic HQ have a Bonding Spell in place?" He shook his head. "Sorry, I don't believe a word of it."

"James," Hermione began, in her best ‘You _will_ listen to me' voice – but his father interrupted her.

"James, if you're feeling so well, why don't you go for a walk down the corridor and back – and then we'll talk about this."

That, too, was a tone of voice James knew well. It brooked no argument, and as his dad was technically his boss as well as his father – and James rather suspected that he himself was already in a lot of trouble for a number of reasons within the Department right now – James reckoned he should do as he was told. He swung his legs over the side of the bed and made for the door.

As he moved, however, he found the pain returning. Slight, to start with; but getting stronger the more he moved, until by the time he reached the door, he was struggling to breathe, taking great gasps of air. He took another pace, determined not to be beaten by this – he'd been given an order, and he was going to carry it out, damn it – and fell to his knees, groaning with the sensations flooding through him.

"James!"

"Jamie!"

The cry came in four different voices. His father had his arms around him, and was pulling him back towards the bed.

"Sit down," his father said, anxiety warring with impatience in his voice. "You were supposed to get the hint earlier than that, Jamie, not fight to the point of agony."

Now he was back on the bed, James was beginning to feel a bit better. Not entirely right, but much better than he had been. He heard Luna say, "Teddy?" in a gentle, requesting tone. To James's shock, Teddy reached over and laid a hand on his wrist; and James almost jumped out of bed at the sensation.

It felt good. Much, much better than any simple touch should do. Like warmth was flowing through Teddy into James. A slightly inappropriate warmth, as James found to his embarrassment that his cock was taking an interest in proceedings. He shook Teddy off hastily, but realised that he was feeling – well, the pain had gone. In its place was that warmth that Teddy had provided through his touch…and a real, distinct urge to fling himself into Teddy's arms.

Mind you, that was nothing new. Fortunately, James had been fighting that particular urge on and off for years. Clenching his fists and shutting his eyes, he took a few deep, calming breaths, the way they were taught in Auror training to clear their minds. He opened them again, and looked around. Teddy was wearing his blank face – the one James still hadn't learned to read, and not for lack of trying – Luna looked interested, Hermione and James's dad looked anxious.

"Okay," James said. "Bonded. Well, I guess there are worse people to be bonded to." He gave Teddy a faint apologetic smile.

"When Harry asked us to be partners, I wasn't exactly thinking of this sort of partner," Teddy said wryly, one lip lifting a little at the corner.

James's cock gave another irritating twitch because the truth was, when he'd heard his dad say "partners", James's mind had immediately gone to something very like this. Well, a voluntary version, obviously. He'd been wanting to get up close and personal with Teddy for… fuck, he wasn't going to start counting how many years because it could get embarrassing (even more embarrassing). But still, however long it had been, he hadn't wanted it like this. He thought about how Teddy clearly didn't want any such thing, and his threatened erection subsided. He turned to the others (‘the grown ups', as his mind insisted on calling them, despite the fact he was twenty-fucking-three and therefore actually grown up himself, while Teddy was six years older still), looking for answers.

"So, I guess the question is, how long till it wears off? Or is there a counter-spell? And...um..." James gave Teddy a slightly apologetic look, "how exactly does this thing work meanwhile?"

The grown-ups looked concerned. His father and Hermione looked at each other.

"The truth is, son, we don't really know," Harry admitted. "There are Aurors still at the HQ, trying to work out what precisely Teddy triggered." James sensed Teddy wince behind him at those words. "And..."

"The more time you spend very close together," Luna said, "the further apart you can get at other times. At least, that seems to be the case."

James's father sighed. "We also – Hermione thinks that there's a chance it may get…more potent over time."

"Meaning?"

"You'll need to get closer still," Hermione said, a little pink. "Possibly…ah…intimate."

"Intimate?" James repeated, stupefied.

"She means you may end up having sex," Luna said, her voice as matter-of-fact as if she were discussing the weather rather than the fact that Teddy had somehow walked into a spell that meant that he and James might end up _fucking_.

"But we're hoping to find a cure before it gets to that point," Hermione said quickly.

"Hermione will find something," Harry said, with a fond smile at the other woman. "Meanwhile, though… Well, I'm afraid you're going to have to find ways to stay close..."

*

That hadn't been the end of the talking, of course. There had been lots of discussion before Teddy and James were allowed to go home. Together, obviously.

"Your place," James had said firmly, adding, "Al," in explanation.

He shared a flat with his younger brother, and the idea of coping with his sudden need to be by Teddy's side all the time with an audience (and _such_ an audience: Albus could not have prevented himself taking the piss if he tried, James knew) was horrifying.

"My place." Teddy had clearly had the same thought and come to the same conclusion.

So there they were, sitting uncomfortably side-by-side on the sofa. Not that the sofa itself was uncomfortable, nor was sitting next to Teddy on it a particularly unusual activity, though granted they didn't usually sit quite this close together. James could feel the heat of Teddy's skin, feel his breath against him when he turned towards him to say something. They'd spent evenings together in the past – plenty of them. They were friends as well as colleagues. Tonight, however, instead of James (usually slightly pissed, and rather cheerful if regrettably horny) ambling home in an alcoholic haze, they would be… James had never actually been inside Teddy's bedroom, let alone slept in his bed, let alone slept in his bed _with Teddy right there beside him_.

James thought of something. "You don't have a partner, do you? I mean, at the moment? Because she – he – they – whatever, would probably be having kittens if they knew about this."

Teddy was bisexual, though he kept it under wraps for the main part. Unlike James, who was gay gay gay (and gay for _fucking_ Teddy Lupin, with whom he was supposed to be sharing a _fucking_ bed tonight, and not because Teddy actually wanted him there).

Teddy leaned back and stretched his long legs out in front of him. James tried not to look at the muscular thighs that his trousers were doing precious little to conceal.

"No. Single as single can be. You?"

James gave a slightly bitter laugh. "Ha. As Albus would no doubt delight in telling you, my love life is Saharan."

"Very hot?" Teddy asked, teasing.

James's laugh this time was more amused. "Sadly, no. A desert. As non-existent as the Crumple-Horned Snorkack. So at least we're safe from infuriated lovers, eh?"

"Yeah." Teddy shifted slightly. "Look, I'm tired. It's been – well, a bit of a day. Do you reckon we've spent enough time close that if I go and have a shower and get through the bathroom, you'll be okay if you stand on the other side of the door?"

James bit back a sigh. No exchanging of confidences were going to be happening, then. "We can try it. You?"

"It… It's a bit different for me, anyway," Teddy said, looking away. 

James had already had the impression that the spell affected them in slightly different ways, but he still wasn't sure how, and didn't like to ask. Instead, he just nodded. Teddy stood up, and leaned down to give James a hand up. James felt that tingling warmth flow through him again, leaving him turned on and discomfited and horribly, horribly aware of Teddy's presence. 

"Thanks," he mumbled.

He trailed after Teddy to the bathroom, trying not to think about Teddy naked. Teddy in the shower. Teddy… Did he wank in the shower, like James sometimes did? No, he wasn't thinking about that. He mustn't think about that. His erection pushed uncomfortably against his trousers, and although he wasn't precisely in pain, he was aware of the distance between himself and Teddy and desperately wanted it closed. Wanted to be right there in the shower with Teddy, pushing up against him, and… _No_. God damn it, why did his brain insist on going precisely where he needed it not to? He was supposed to be sharing a bed with the bloke, in a nice brotherly fashion, not thinking about what it would be like to fuck him.

The shower stopped, and James adjusted himself to make his unfortunate situation less bloody obvious before Teddy came out and noticed. Things were awkward enough without Teddy knowing that James was lusting after him. Plus, James would die of humiliation, which he happened to think would be a bad outcome. Seriously, he would have to have a wank in the shower or he'd do something worse like come in his sleep or proposition Teddy in a moment of sleepy weakness. For now, though, he desperately needed to think of something else, like…like…

Teddy opened the door, and appeared with just a towel wrapped round his waist, which was precisely the sort of thing that James really didn't need to be thinking about. James gave a little, somewhat undignified, squawk and pushed quickly past his partner into the bathroom, locking the door behind him.

"James… Jamie – you okay?" Teddy's voice floated through the door.

James took a deep breath. "Yeah. Erm, sorry – needed… Well, no need to go into detail, eh?" It wasn't precisely a lie, even if Teddy probably (hopefully) thought he'd been desperate for a piss.

"Okay. Is it all right if I go into the bedroom and change, or…?"

Fuck. Fuck. Either Teddy walked away, in which case it was going to hurt like hell, or he stayed put wearing just that towel, and then when James came out the entire problem was going to start all over again.

James sighed, curled himself protectively on the floor, and said, "No, it's fine if you go."

He felt the pain growing as Teddy walked away, and bit down hard into his forearm to prevent himself from crying out. Merlin, if he stayed away too long, James would pass out. Again. He was beginning to wish he hadn't locked the door behind him, though it wasn't as if a locked door would prevent Teddy getting through if need be. Fortunately, in a minute or so, Teddy was back. James held back the groan and merely pressed himself as silently as possible against the door on the other side. He had done nothing in terms of readying himself for bed, but just at the moment he was clinging to the door as if it were his only salvation.

After a while, James recovered himself enough to have a piss and then get in the shower, where his intention to have a quick wank was stymied by the fact that the pain had destroyed any tendency towards arousal. He craved Teddy's touch and dreaded it in similar measures, knowing that it would relieve the pain but also immediately make him want things he didn't want to want. This had to be the worst thing ever.

His father had called round with a bag of essentials for James, and James and Teddy had agreed to go over to James and Al's flat tomorrow to collect more of his things – a task made easier by the fact that Harry had told them firmly that they were on sick leave for the foreseeable future: it seemed that a pair of Aurors who couldn't move more than a few feet away from each other were, to some degree, a liability. Who'd've thought? Especially considering Hermione's warning that things could ‘get more potent,' with whatever delights that might bring.

James sighed ten minutes later, as he entered Teddy's bedroom for the first time. It wasn't exactly the way he'd imagined this going. Behind him, Teddy laughed.

"My room really that bad?"

James grimaced. He hadn't thought about how that sigh would sound to Teddy, and he sure as hell wasn't going to explain what had made him sigh.

"No, it's – sorry – I mean, I just –"

"It's okay, I get it." Teddy interrupted what might have been a long and complicated non-explanation. "'S all a bit weird, isn't it? I'm not sure of the etiquette, either."

"Yeah."

James looked around, nonetheless kind of fascinated by being in Teddy's room. It had a mellow ambiance which reminded him of his Auror partner himself: calm and relaxed, and not-quite-perfect. It had blue walls, with unmatching furniture – often quirky pieces, like a bookcase which was completely round (James stared at it for some time, trying to work out how it stayed up, before he decided that the answer was probably ‘magic') and a double bed which boasted an intriguing wooden frame with iron rings attached to it. James gulped at this, having all too much imagination. The things that those rings might be used for…

He turned to Teddy, who had a faint blush on his face as he watched James stare at his bed.

"It's reasonably comfortable, and I don't hog the duvet," Teddy said, tugging on his hair and encouraging it back to its usual turquoise from the magenta it had somehow turned. "I usually sleep naked," he added with a grin, "but I thought you might not appreciate that, so I hope you approve of my pyjamas."

James gulped, his eyes opening wide as he couldn't help thinking about a nude Teddy. He, too, tended to sleep only in pants; he hoped to god that his dad had managed to scare up some PJs from somewhere.

He suddenly realised that Teddy was expecting an answer, so he mumbled, "Yeah, lovely;" and only then looked at what his bonded partner was wearing: pale yellow pyjamas with pictures of alligators crawling all over them.

Teddy gave a muffled snort of laughter. "Never thought they'd be your thing, but whatever turns -" He stopped hastily, and finished, "as they say."

James wondered if he was thinking about Luna and Hermione's suggestion that the pair of them would need to get more intimate. The horrified look on Teddy's face right now implied that the idea was somewhere in the region of utterly dreadful to him, which didn't do James's ego much good but did at least have an impressive deflating effect on his prick.

"Yeah, well," he mumbled, searching in the bag of clothes for pyjamas, and failing to discover them. He'd have liked to go to the bathroom and have a proper root through, but James knew he couldn't go that far away from Teddy, so he was left pawing through his meagre belongings like a prat.

He didn't discover any pyjamas, but he did discover something less pleasing: a small note with familiar handwriting, writ in tiny letters. It read:

_So you finally got what you've wanted for ages, to share a bed with Teddy. Pity to waste it by wearing night-clothes, no? Dad told me he'd trust me with the packing because he knows I only want the best for you. And, of course, he's right. You know you never wear pyjamas. You'd be horribly uncomfortable. ~A._

James swore under his breath. Unfortunately, Teddy had ears like a bat.

"What's up?"

"Um..." There was no way James was showing him that note. There was far too much Slytherin truth in it, damn his little brother Albus to bits. "Dad forgot my PJs. Don't suppose you have spare?"

"Sure, no worries," Teddy said easily, ambling to a drawer and rootling through it. "At least," he added a minute later, after an apparently unsuccessful search, "a T-shirt and some jogging bottoms, if that'll do?"

"That's fine." James didn't have words for how much he hated his brother right now. "Thanks."

Teddy threw them at him, and James realised to his mortification that his first instinct was to _sniff_ the damn things because they smelt of Teddy – the most wonderful scent in the world. And the worst thing was, James knew bloody well that this wasn't just due to the bonding; he'd thought this for years, leaning on Teddy's shoulders in claimed drunkenness and breathing in his scent.

"Great, thanks." James managed to turn the gesture into one of pulling the T-shirt over his head – and then realising that he was still wearing his original clothes. "Ugh," he said, blushing. "Sorry. I'm not very with it at the moment."

"Been a bit of a day, hasn't it?" Teddy said sympathetically.

"Just a bit," he acknowledged, realising that he couldn't even change in private because he couldn't cope with being apart from Teddy – not after the bathroom fiasco. "Erm..."

He'd changed in many a Quidditch and Auror changing room, for fuck's sake, in front of loads of other people. Why was this any different? Except it was, because it was just him and Teddy, and James was _in Teddy's bedroom_ taking his clothes off, and Merlin's balls, but that brought up WAY too many feelings. To his grateful relief, Teddy had turned away and slid into bed - "I take the left side; hope that's okay?" - and James could get into the clothes in relative privacy. He hadn't brushed his teeth, but to be frank, the last thing he was interested in doing was going back to the bathroom, so he cast a quick spell (what the hell would Muggles do in this situation? Except Muggles presumably wouldn't _get_ into this sort of situation… James wondered whether this was the first time in his life he'd wished he were a Muggle) and then slipped into the bed (oh gods, that smelt of Teddy too – wonderful and terrible at the same time, and too _fucking_ arousing when James was supposed to be spending the night sleeping here in a nice, brotherly fashion) beside his godbrother.

Teddy flicked his wand at the lights and they dimmed to darkness. He gave a soft laugh. "Well, as I said before, I'm not sure of the etiquette here, but – still. Let's do the thing properly. Night, James."

"G'night," James muttered, feeling his face heat and being extremely grateful for the dark.

There was the soft sound of Teddy turning onto his side, the little pull of the bed-covers as he did so; and then silence. James lay on his back, staring at the ceiling and trying to ignore the whole Teddy-ness of the bed, and wondered how long it would take him to sleep.

A long time.

A very long time.

Two hours later, James was listening to Teddy's even breathing beside him and wondering jealously how his godbrother found it so damn easy to fall asleep. Of course, James admitted to himself, he was probably helped by not fancying the bloody arse off the person next to him in bed. And the fact that it was his own bed. James, though… James was stuck just about a foot away from the bloke he'd been having wet dreams about pretty much since he ever started having them (and that was something he was never going to tell anyone, thank you very much) – in bed with the guy, wearing the bloke's actual clothes…and not allowed to touch him. Frustrated – well, frustrated didn't even begin to cover it.

Teddy made a little sighing noise in his sleep, and James had to resist the urge to reach out and reassure him. A bad, wicked, thought occurred to him. They were, after all, sharing a bed. And bonded. Surely, if James ‘happened' to have rolled over and cuddled Teddy in the night – he couldn't be blamed for that, could he? James had all too many vivid memories of being forced to share a bed with Albus, who was a bloody koala given half a chance. The amount of times he'd woken with Al coiled around him like a snake were too numerous to mention. Of course, being the good older brother he was, James had kicked Al off with indignant ferocity as soon as he came to, but James was willing to bet that Teddy was too nice to do the same to him.

With a small smile, James turned over, rested his head on Teddy's shoulder, breathing him in, and was asleep within minutes.

*

When he woke up, it was stretched against a warm, hard body – and James's prick reacted instinctively, morning wood very much in operation as, half-awake, he rutted lazily against the back of the bloke he must've picked up the previous night. It'd been a while: being in love with Teddy bloody Lupin meant that James rarely had the urge to pull; but as he had done, he might as well make the most of it.

It felt good – so good, James could almost imagine that it _was_ -

"Erm, James?" A sleepy voice came from beside him; a very familiar sleepy voice.

The previous day came back to James in hideous technicolour, alongside the fact that he was currently attempting to rub one off on his Auror partner and platonic friend (however much James might wish otherwise).

"Shit," James exclaimed, mortified, his whole body jerking away from Teddy. "I mean – god. Sorry. Can we just..."

He turned over so that he was facing away from Teddy, because his cock was still hard, damn it. He was too old for this sort of shit. It'd been bad enough when he was a teenager who had to keep running out of rooms that Teddy was in because of inconvenient erections; now he was a twenty-something, that sort of thing was supposed to have stopped. Especially considering the fact that he actually physically _couldn't_ leave the room without severe pain.

Mind you, that might have the desired effect…

James wasn't a Gryffindor for nothing, so he headed for the door, wondering how far he'd be able to get before the pain kicked in. Hey, maybe it would've worn off by -

"Fuck," he said involuntarily, reaching a distance of approximately four yards from Teddy and feeling blackness seep into the corners of his mind as he keeled to the floor.

"James!" A yelp from Teddy, and then James felt the floor rock as Teddy leapt out of bed, putting an arm around him. "Idiot," a voice murmured softly in James's ear.

James groaned. "So… That was a bad idea," he admitted.

"Do you think…what Hermione said – it's to do with that?" Teddy asked, unusually incoherent.

James wasn't sure whether Teddy was referring to the fainting, or the…well, _other_ thing. When it came to the fact he'd been rubbing off on Teddy, the honest answer to whether it was due to the bonding spell was ‘no'. However, honesty sounded like a really bad plan right now. Pretending everything that had happened was because of the bond would save embarrassment all around, James reminded himself. It was kinder to Teddy as well as himself.

"Yeah, probably. Sorry," he said again.

Teddy's arm gripped him tighter for a few seconds before letting go. "Not your fault. It's just a thing. On the other hand, if you were trying to get me out of bed, you managed – you tosser," he added, half-laughing.

James sat up, ruffled his hair and grinned at Teddy. "Yeah, that was the plan all along. Make you get me some breakfast. Cunning plan, yeah?"

"We'll make a Slytherin of you yet," Teddy agreed, and James winced dramatically.

"You cut me! You cut me to the heart, Teddy Lupin! How could you say such a thing?"

"Prat."

Teddy shook his head and ran his fingers through his hair, and James watched with open fascination as it changed colour from the darkish blue it had gone in his sleep to the turquoise he knew Teddy preferred. The colour dribbled through his hair from the roots to the tips; it fell loosely round the sides of his face, and James had to bite back the urge to reach forward and brush it out of Teddy's eyes.

"So," James said, bravely moving forward in true Gryffindor style. "About that breakfast."

"Yes, my dear idiot, I will make you some food. Come on. Best foot forward, and all that."

Teddy got to his feet and reached down a hand to pull James up. James tried not to tremble under the touch, but it was reassuring to see that Teddy reacted a little, as if he'd got a tiny electric shock from the touch. Perhaps it _was_ the bond, at that. Well, some of it, anyway. Gods, James couldn't believe that he'd tried to molest Teddy first thing this morning. He felt horrendously guilty and mortified at the entire thing, and was just grateful that Teddy had chosen to deal with it in this way.

Mostly grateful, anyway, he admitted to himself as he followed a laughing Teddy into the kitchen. It would have been best of all if Teddy had grabbed him and carried him back to bed. But James knew that was a pipe dream, a ridiculous thought which had no basis in any reality. Still, even though he was grateful for what he had, it hurt, seeing Teddy like this – open and laughing – and not being able to touch him as he wanted to. James packed his feelings and the words he wanted to say back in a small box in his mouth and then swallowed them down like a potion. He wasn't going to think like that. He mustn't think like that. They just needed to deal with the fact of their accidental bonding and go on like normal.

Normal right now was letting Teddy make him breakfast; watching the man he'd loved for years amble around his own kitchen dressed in those ridiculous pyjamas, and just being content to sit at the table. James knew he ought to be grateful: if he'd been out with one of the other Aurors – improbable but a possibility – he might have ended up with this bond with them. Imagine having to spend all of his time within a few yards of Perkins. Imagine _sharing a bed_ with Perkins.

James gave a little shudder at the very thought, and Teddy looked round.

"You all right, Jamie?"

"Ugh. Sorry. Just thinking what it would be like to be bonded to Perkins," James said, accidentally truthful.

Teddy's eyes opened wide. There was a little glimpse of hurt in them, James thought.

"You'd rather be bonded to him?"

"Didn't you see me shudder?" James pointed out. "Hell, no! I was just–" He cut off for a second, and gave a reluctant smile. "I was just being grateful for what I've got, I guess."

"Thanks," Teddy said dryly. "Well, ‘what you've got' has finished cooking the eggs, so if you want some, you can get some plates out from the cupboard to your left."

*

As the day went on, James began to get frustrated in more than one way. Yes, he was grateful that if he was bonded to someone, it was Teddy – although, on the other hand, at least there was no way (he sincerely hoped) that he would've jumped any of the other Aurors it might have been. But Merlin's beard, this was difficult. They'd been to James's house to pick up more supplies (James had realised to his mortification that he didn't actually _own_ any pyjamas, a fact he'd managed to forget since it was so long since he'd last worn any. He'd had to make do with tracksuit bottoms and a reasonably new T-shirt that he hoped wasn't too embarrassing). But all the time they'd been there, Teddy had just been a pace behind him.

Plus, by now James had an urgent need to wank, and it was really fucking difficult when he couldn't even go to the loo without getting Teddy to stand a bit nearer the door than was...appropriate. (James remembered Connor's comments, and gritted his teeth. It was a trifle too close to the truth, it turned out.) He could hardly rub one off thinking about someone who was actually standing a metre away, could he? And the worst thing was, the longer he spent around Teddy, the worse it was getting. Of course, it was probably all the fault of this bloody spell – or whatever it was. But it wasn't exactly as if the feeling hadn't been there before. It was just even worse than usual. If it carried on like this…

If he could only increase the distance somehow – manage to make it so that at least Teddy could be far enough away that there was no chance of him somehow over-hearing James…maybe he was onto something there, James thought hopefully. It was worth a try, anyway. So, in the early evening, as Teddy was sitting on the sofa reading a book ( _Potions and the Dark Arts_ \- very professional; James, in contrast, had been reading _Jaws_ by a Muggle author, which he'd picked up off Teddy's round bookcase), James got up and wandered idly away, as if by chance.

He could feel Teddy's eyes on him after a few yards. He pushed it a bit further, because damn it, he definitely couldn't get to the bathroom and rub one off if he couldn't get a little bit further than this. It was difficult, yes, but not utterly impossible, he reckoned.

His thoughts were interrupted by his Auror partner.

"James." Teddy's voice was tight.

James, on the edge of pain, and a searing different sort of discomfort that he didn't want to think about too much, said, "Yes?" without turning around.

"Can you come back this way a bit, please?"

"What the… Why?"

"Because" – and the tightness in Teddy's voice was so strong that it almost bit, like rope – "I am _this_ close to grabbing you, pulling you to me, ripping your clothes off and fucking you into the nearest mattress; and I would rather not live the rest of my life knowing I'm a rapist. So if you would just _move a bit closer_ , dammit, I might actually be able to think again."

"Oh." James could feel his face flushing – and his cock hardening at the thought of Teddy fucking him. He had a feeling that _It wouldn't be rape if I wanted it_ was not precisely the answer Teddy was looking for just now, however – and an even stronger one that he wasn't ready to be making that sort of admission. "Sorry," he said, awkwardly moving a few paces closer to Teddy. "I…er…didn't know..." He trailed off, not knowing how to finish the sentence.

"It's not something I particularly want to go around trumpeting," Teddy said wryly. "Thank you."

James had an urge to sit down next to Teddy, put a hand on his thigh. It was the sort of thought which was getting more and more common. To start with, it had just been the pain when they were too far apart. Then had come the more embarrassing situation, where he felt half-turned-on almost all the time. Of course, that wasn't a million miles away from how he'd felt about Teddy before, but it was becoming stronger all the time he spent around the other man. Now, there was this desperate need to touch and be touched. If a cure wasn't found in the near future, James knew damn well that he and Teddy would end up doing more than merely sleeping in the same bed. And much as he'd always wanted that, he'd wanted it to be because they chose to, not because some fucked up bonding spell had forced them into it.

He forced back a groan and flumped back onto the sofa, picking up _Jaws_ again. He was beginning to think that a man-eating shark might be preferable to the situation he currently found himself in. He just hoped that Hermione would find something out soon…

*

Five days later.

Five horrible, wonderful days later. Being with Teddy 24/7 for the past few days, unable to move more than a few steps away from him, should have been enough to drive him to distraction with the other man. It was enough to make you hate anyone, surely? Instead, James had just found himself falling further and further in love. Maybe it was the bond, but it felt – well, different from the compulsion. There was the physical need to be touched, to be close. If that wasn't fulfilled, it hurt, or James began to feel as if he was falling apart. But the emotional side…that was different. That was the enjoyment of just _being_ with Teddy – playing chess, joking around, arguing over the cooking. Those bits felt right, as if James had always been meant to be living here, in Teddy's flat. Teddy switching between work reading and reading those godawful crime thrillers as James listened to Quidditch on the wireless, or got desperate enough to read another of Teddy's books ( _Jaws_ had been a truly terrible read, though Teddy assured him that the film was great fun). All the time, shoulder to shoulder. Close.

Merlin, James was head-over-heels for the bloke and Teddy? Teddy hadn't looked twice at him before this bloody bond had come up. Now? _Now_ , he was looking. James had caught Teddy looking a few times; he just hadn't worked out what to do with the situation, unfortunately. Every so often, they did more than look. Teddy's hand had a habit of migrating to James's thigh when they sat close enough; James had fallen asleep on the sofa with his head nestled in the crook of Teddy's neck too many times for it to be seen as entirely accidental, even to the most clueless person (which Teddy, both an Auror and a sensitive soul, was not). Not to mention the fact that Teddy had almost kissed him once, suddenly changing it to a manly hug at the very last second, as if he'd realised belatedly what he was doing.

And then there was today. James had woken up this morning to an extremely aroused Teddy lying flush on top of him, fast asleep. Of course, it might just have been morning wood, but Teddy had murmured something which sounded very much like _Jamie_ as he gently rolled his hips against James's own. It had taken all of James's mental strength to fake a stretch which ‘accidentally' woke his sleeping partner. Teddy had blinked confused eyes inches away from James's own and then rolled away hastily.

But whilst James couldn't bring himself to take advantage of a sleeping man, as the day wore on, he was beginning to doubt his ability to keep away from an awake one. After all, they did both want it, even if – well, even if there were _reasons_ for Teddy's desire which were less than perfect. So after dinner that night, when Teddy, getting up from the table, made a third aborted move toward James, it was too much.

James broke.

Instead of smiling, and changing the subject, as he'd tried to do before, he met it head on.

"You want me, Teddy."

"That much," Teddy said back, his voice strained, "is more than obvious."

"And I want you."

He watched the adam's apple in Teddy's throat move as he swallowed. "You -"

"You know I want you," James said, his voice a murmur as he stood up and moved close to his Auror partner. "So… What if we just – go with it?" James put his arms around Teddy, and pulled him close, kissing his neck.

"J-James, Jamie, I can't think when you do that."

James could feel that Teddy was fighting it, this attraction, but almost despite himself his arms were winding their way around James, sliding into the back pockets of his jeans as if they were meant to go there. Gods, they fitted together so well. James tilted his hips, pressing their groins together for just a fraction of a second; and Teddy took a hissed breath.

"Jamie," he warned, his voice a growl which went straight to James's cock.

"Merlin, yes," James said, breathing in the spicy scent which was so very Teddy, and biting back a moan.

"It's just – the bond making you want this."

It might be for Teddy, James thought ruefully, but James was pretty sure the bond had precious little to do with the way he was feeling about Teddy. Considering he'd been feeling the same way for the past seven years and more. Maybe it was wrong of him to take advantage of Teddy like this – he'd fought it hard at the beginning, because he'd wanted Teddy to want _him_ , James. But it was what it was – they had what they had, and fighting it was so much effort. He looked at his partner.

"We're going to end up fucking anyway. Why not do it as if we mean it?" James rocked his hips against Teddy's again, and Teddy's grip of his arse tightened, holding him close. "I want you, Teddy. I want you to fuck me like you want me too. Like this is something real. Fake it if you must, just..." He was pleading now, and he'd meant not to do that.

"I don't need to fake it." Teddy's voice was low. 

James wished he could believe that he meant it - that he meant that he really felt the same way James did. But to Teddy, this was just something he didn't need to fake right now, James reminded himself, because the bond was making him want it. But still...

"Then what's the harm?"

James dropped his head to Teddy's shoulder again, fearful of what Teddy might see in his face. The hope. The love.

"I don't want you to hate me – afterwards," Teddy said quietly.

James got a grip on himself and took a deep breath, looking up and forcing a smile onto his face. "Scared I won't respect you in the morning, Lupin?"

"Merlin, you're a tosser sometimes, Jamie," Teddy said; but the tone was fond.

"Scared you won't respect _me_ in the morning?" James corrected himself.

That, of course, really was an issue. That Teddy would be the one to regret it. But, as James had pointed out, they were going to fuck anyway. That wasn't in doubt given the way Teddy had been acting today and the way James felt. They could either do it reluctantly, or just get what they could out of it. At least it would mean that James was going to have some memories to live with. He was pretty sure Teddy would run a million miles away from him come the end of this bond – whenever that would be – which hurt like fuck when he thought about it. Maybe he was cheating Teddy by trying to persuade him into this.

"No, I'm not scared of that," Teddy said, at the same time that James said, "Oh, forget it."

Their eyes met. "What do you want, James?" Teddy asked.

"You." James's smile was crooked. "It's always been you."

"Jamie… Ah, fuck it," said Teddy.

One of Teddy's hands moved from James's back pocket to the back of his head; and Teddy's mouth was against James's, not so much asking as demanding the kiss. Lips firm, tongue gentle but determined as it explored James's mouth. James melted into it, going almost boneless against his partner, holding on to Teddy as the only thing keeping him upright. Teddy was walking him backwards towards the bedroom, not breaking the kiss at any point. And god, he was everything James had hoped for; everything he'd dreamed of – and they'd done nothing but bloody _kiss_.

So far.

James wanted more. He wanted it all. He tugged at Teddy's T-shirt, loosening it from the tight-fitting jeans which had been driving him wild all day, and running his hands up underneath it and over Teddy's Auror-toned body. There was a level of physical fitness expected in Aurors, but from what James was feeling under his fingers, Teddy was far beyond that level. It figured, James thought, in a far-off part of his mind, that Teddy was not just fit, but every gay man's wet dream. No wonder he'd never shown any interest in James himself before this. He could have his fucking pick of people.

Teddy dragged his mouth away from James's, looking at James with dazed hazel eyes – his natural colour, James noted absently. Unlike Teddy's hair, which changed with his mood, the rest of his features reverted to his natural state when he was caught up in something. Then again, maybe multi-coloured hair _was_ Teddy's natural state.

"God, James, you're amazing," Teddy whispered. Then, unexpectedly, "Merlin, I'm going to fuck you right through that mattress."

James let out a groan at the imagery this brought forth. Teddy was so bloody dominating and it did so many things to him. Pretty much all of his (few and far between) flings had imagined that James – both as an Auror, and as the Son Of The Saviour – would want to be in charge of the situation in the bedroom. And James's personality probably didn't help: he came across as cocky, and probably a bit arrogant. Certainly no shrinking violet. But that didn't mean – oh hell, it didn't mean – that he didn't want everything that Teddy was promising, and more.

His hands dropped to Teddy's jeans, and he made short work of unbuttoning them, dropping to his knees before Teddy to peel them down his legs. He'd already known that Teddy was…definitely not small in the manhood department, after having him lying atop him – had it only been that morning? But face to face with Teddy's cock, as it were… James found himself salivating at the sight. He needed it in his mouth, now.

"Please." It was the only word James could think to form as he licked his lips. "God, please."

Teddy's lips were slightly parted, and his hair a vibrant purple that James wasn't familiar with. His eyes met James's.

"Do it," he said softly.

James leaned forwards to take Teddy's cock into his mouth. It was soft-hard, the silky skin underlaid by a firmness which showed Teddy's desire. It had the same slightly spicy smell as Teddy's scent, but tasted salty, too; a little bitter as the first pre-come dribbled from its tip between James's willing lips. James thought he could come just from doing this; touch himself and suck Teddy's prick and reach his peak so easily. But the thought of Teddy fucking him hard held him back. He wanted it too much; had wanted it too long. And he still feared that Teddy would regret this later. But James needed, really needed, to take all he could whilst he could. It might be wrong, and bad, and twisted, given the bond and the almost forced nature of this encounter – but… James blinked back idiotic tears and concentrated on Teddy's cock.

Teddy had wound a hand into James's hair and was tugging just this side shy of painfully. Words were falling from his mouth – hot, filthy, wonderful words.

"Merlin, I could just fuck your mouth all night, Jamie. Come down your throat and you'd just take it all. So beautiful on your knees for me like this. So bloody gorgeous taking my dick."

James groaned, his erection pressing painfully against his trousers. He shoved a hand between his legs, flicking open the clasps to give his manhood a bit more space, all the time licking and sucking at Teddy's cock.

"Want me to help you off with those trousers?" Teddy asked, his voice deeper and rougher than James was used to, but the teasing smile on his face very familiar, though James had never seen it from this particular angle before. "I want to see you naked, Jamie."

The full-body shudder which overtook James at Teddy's words took him by surprise. He broke away from his ministrations to take a heavy gulp of air. _Teddy wanted to see him naked._ Fuck, but the thought of that did things to him.

"Y-yeah," he said, on a bit of a cough.

Teddy leaned down and hefted James to his feet, pulling his T-shirt off in a swift and trademarkedly clumsy motion. It was almost consoling to be reminded that Teddy wasn't perfect at everything, James thought fondly. Then Teddy's hands were on his chest, and James forgot everything as Teddy traced long, blunt-tipped fingers across his pecs, rubbing his thumbs over James's nipples until the nubs pressed out proudly and James arched into the touch.

"God, you're so responsive," Teddy muttered.

He leaned down and sucked one of the nipples before biting gently. Then his hands sank to James's already unbuttoned trousers, and he pushed them and James's pants down around his ankles. James stepped out of them, toeing off his socks. He was smaller than Teddy – in all sorts of ways, he thought ruefully, looking down at his own adequate but comparatively unimpressive cock. He'd got his height from his father, just as Teddy had from his; unfortunately, Harry was a small man, and Remus had not been. James was taller than his dad, but Teddy had several inches on him nonetheless.

"Fuck me," James begged.

In response, Teddy kissed him – hard and rough and demanding, full of a scorching heat which flooded through James's body. Long minutes later, he pulled away, one hand under James's chin, directing his look straight at him as if trying to read his mind. James wouldn't beg again, not out loud; but he knew the request was written all over his face.

The corner of Teddy's mouth curved up. "I ought to ask you if you're sure, but -"

"I'm sure."

Teddy's gaze pierced him straight through. "Lie down and spread your legs for me, James."

James hurried to comply, his cheeks a little flushed at the combination of the look he was getting from Teddy and the request he was fulfilling.

"Like this?" he asked, on his back on the bed, the quilt pushed hurriedly to one side.

Teddy stripped off his T-shirt and clambered onto the bed, positioning himself between James's open legs. "God, yeah."

He reached out and touched James's cock, running fingers down it with unexpected gentleness before going on to play with his balls with the same careful touch. James caught his lip between his teeth to prevent himself pleading for more; he wanted what Teddy wanted to give him, anything Teddy wanted to give him. A finger probed lower, tickling the tight pucker of his anus. James squirmed and giggled a little at the light pressure.

"Oh, you think I'm funny?" Teddy's voice was darkly teasing. He held out a hand. "Accio lube."

The drawer to James's left opened and a half-used tube of Muggle lubrication flew into Teddy's hand. James hadn't thought he could get any warmer, but Teddy's casual use of wandless magic had always turned him on. The fact that his partner was using it now, like this, for this reason.

"Stop teasing and fuck me, Lupin," he growled.

Teddy raised an eyebrow. "So demanding, Jamie." He grinned, a familiar expression that still made James's heart beat faster. "But believe me, I'm going to."

He had relaxed now, and so had James, as if the very fact that they'd given into the bond and were actually going to fuck had released some of the pressure between them. This was the old, familiar Teddy that James knew and loved – there was a new dynamic, certainly, but as it was one that James had been wishing for, for many a long year, he wasn't complaining about that. But Teddy had opened the tube and was squeezing gel onto his fingers. James had little time to contemplate anything before one finger was pressing against his entrance again, this time slippery as it slid around the wrinkled opening before pushing a little way inside.

James groaned and tilted his hips upwards, encouraging Teddy's finger to slide in further.

"Fuck, you're so hot," Teddy said softly, as he moved carefully inside James. "Clinging to my finger…can't wait to feel you clinging to my dick like this." He squeezed some more of the lube over his cock before dropping the tube and wrapping a hand around his erection.

"Wanna feel you," James admitted.

"Merlin, Jamie, I..." Teddy cut off as if he couldn't finish the statement, looking away from James's face and back down to where he was adding a second finger inside James, curling it round and feeling until– 

"Oh fuck, _there_ ," James said, unintentionally loud, his hips lifting clean off the bed at the sensation of Teddy's broad fingertip probing his prostate. "Fuck, fuck..."

Teddy gave a slightly breathless laugh. "Like that, don't you? Love me touching you. Going to let me fuck you, Jamie?"

"Now – now, please," James said, unable to prevent himself from trying to fuck himself hard on Teddy's fingers. "Godric's balls, Ted, I need you."

The slip of Teddy's fingers leaving him made him feel empty, but Teddy didn't take long before pressing his cock up against James's willing entrance. James hitched his hips, and the tip of Teddy's cock squeezed into him. Teddy took a deep breath of air, one hand curling around James's arse, thumb pressing hard on his hipbone. There was a singing noise in James's head, as if something had come to life which had always been waiting for this moment. Maybe it was the bond, maybe not; James didn't care. It felt _so good_.

"James… James..." Teddy's voice was barely more than a whisper, his gaze resting on where their bodies joined. "Please, let me -"

"Fuck me," James said, his voice hoarse with need.

"Yeah. Going to take you so hard, Jamie. You'll forget anyone else you've ever had. Just me, James. It's just going to be me."

The possessive note in Teddy's voice was impossible to miss, even in James's needy state. That, James knew, would be the bond talking, needing them to think only of each other, as if James had ever really thought of anyone else. Teddy was sliding in further, deeper; going slow, leaving James's body time to adjust to the intrusion. James was breathless with the sheer heat and size of him, feeling sweat sheen his body at the gentle pressure.

He'd intended to say something eloquently encouraging, but what came out of his mouth was simply, "Uh, ohhh, more..."

"Yesss," Teddy hissed, bottoming out. James was full, so full. Teddy leaned down over him, pressed an almost ridiculously chaste kiss against his lips, given that he was balls deep inside James. "Thank you," he whispered, the words so quiet that James could almost persuade himself he'd imagined them, "for giving me this."

Then he began to move in slow, long strokes that spiralled James deeper into pleasure. It was a motion that Teddy seemed as if he could keep up all night – wonderful, at first; and then still wonderful, but frustrating, because James knew that he would be kept on edge with the movement but never brought over it. Close to coming but never reaching satisfaction.

"F-faster. Harder, dammit," he whined, his hair sweat-slicked to his head, and his hands reaching out to grab Teddy and try and force his motion to increase.

Teddy gave a heart-stopping smile. "Got you where I want you, haven't I, Potter? Begging underneath me. You'll come when I want you to." He rested his weight on one arm and slid the other between them, taking James in hand in an equally teasing grip, stroking him hard and then stopping to make a ring around the base of his cock, assuring James had no means of release. "God," he said huskily, "having you in my bed every night, wanting to do this… Can't believe I've finally got you."

James moaned, pressing up against Teddy. A dim and distant part of his mind knew that he'd be embarrassed by his behaviour later, feared that he was showing Teddy all too clearly how he felt about him – but it was easy to shut it down. Let him have this once, at least.

"Please," he begged. "Please, please, please, please..." The word became like a mantra, repeated over and over as he moved his hands all over Teddy's chest and back, wanting to feel every part of Teddy that he could.

"Can't hold back any longer." Hazel eyes met James's. "Don't forget me, Jamie," Teddy said softly.

His hand jerked James's cock in a relentless rhythm, building up pace as he fucked into James. James was no passive receiver, either, giving as good as he got from beneath. He dug his fingers hard into Teddy's sides, thrusting up as his lover thrust down until Teddy's heavy breaths mixed with James's own groans of need and pleasure. James came first, spurting across his belly and chest, a moment which seemed to last an eternity as his brain twisted off into multi-coloured pleasure before going black for a second or two. He came back to himself as Teddy gave one long deep moan, his cock spasming as he spilt himself inside James. His hair was a bright shade that James could hardly put a name to; some type of reddish-purple, but his eyes were still hazel as they fixed on James's own.

Afterwards, Teddy cleaned up with a muttered word and a waved hand – that same wandless magic which James found so sexy. His cock gave an optimistic twitch but could manage no more, and instead he mumbled something unintelligible about Teddy's skills, and curled up against his side. This time, he didn't need to make any excuses for laying his head down on Teddy's chest; a warm feeling spread through James at that thought, and he smiled lazily against Teddy's skin.

Teddy rumbled a laugh. "I can feel you smiling," he told James.

"Mmph," James muttered, giving in to the urge to nuzzle, just a little bit, against Teddy.

Teddy flung an arm around him and pulled him in closer. "Feels good," he said, his own voice drowsy now.

James was asleep within seconds.

*

It was, almost predictably, the next day that the details and counter-curse for the Bonding Spell were discovered. James wondered if he was a Bad Person for being grateful that it had taken until the day after he'd managed to get Teddy into bed. They'd had sex that morning as well; it seemed that Teddy felt that once the forbidden territory between them was broken, he might as well go for it – an attitude in which James was more than happy to encourage him.

Anyhow, it was around the middle of the day when they received an owl with a brief message from James's dad:

_Hermione's found the answer; she'll be round soon to remove the spell. The Department misses you both, though I still need words with James. Lots of love, Harry/Dad._

James winced at his father's reference to ‘words'. He'd half-hoped that he'd got away with the whole ‘taking liberties with the regulations' thing, and that Dad might think that he'd punished himself enough. Apparently, no such luck. Still, it was definitely good news that they'd worked out what was going on with this spell – much as James appreciated the perks (he smiled to himself again, remembering a few explicit details of that morning's ‘perks'), it was undeniably a bit of a nightmare not being able to move more than a metre or so away from Teddy without unpleasant side effects. He just hoped….

Well, Teddy had still seemed to respect him in the morning, and didn't seem to be blaming him for persuading him into bed. Which was good. James hoped that at the very least they could go back to the friendship and working relationship that they'd had beforehand, even though he knew it'd be hard not to think wistfully about what he'd had for one short night. Bloody Weasley genes with their faithfulness and the obsessive love for one person alone – though, now James thought about it, the Potters weren't any better, judging both by his dad and by grandfather James, his namesake, who by all accounts had been utterly bewitched by his grandmother from practically the day they met. Hmph, James got it from both sides. Very unfair.

And altogether unfair that his sight was fixed on the amazing – and for a little while, obtainable – Teddy Lupin. Ah well. And if Albus thought he was getting details, James thought grimly, he could bloody well think again. He still hadn't forgotten or forgiven The Pyjama Episode, even if it turned out that James hadn't owned any. The point was, Al had deliberately not looked.

"Well," James said, passing over the short note to Teddy, "that's good, isn't it?"

"Huh?" Teddy had the tiniest of frowns between his brows. He shook his head slightly, and his hair turned from turquoise to a royal blue. "Oh, yeah, yeah."

Their gazes met for a second, and they both began to speak.

"You're not–"

"I was just–"

They broke off, and laughed. James waved an airy hand.

"You go first."

Teddy shook his head. "It's nothing. I was just –"

But it seemed that James was fated never to hear what Teddy ‘was just'. The Floo roared to life behind them, and James's aunt stepped out of the fireplace, dusting a thin layer of soot off herself.

"James. Teddy," Hermione said briskly. "You need to clean your Floo, Teddy. Sorry about the delay. The spell was a highly unusual one, and..." She cut off and smiled. "Well, you probably want to get rid of it rather than have a technical discussion about what precisely it was, don't you? We can get onto that bit afterwards. It's really quite interesting; it –"

"Hermione?" Teddy said, with a bit of a grin.

James bit back a snigger. His aunt tended to get carried away with new information. It hurt, _quite_ how keen Teddy seemed to be to have the spell taken off, however, no matter how reasonable James told himself that his attitude was.

Hermione nodded, and took out her wand. "I'd tell you to stand close together, but you already are."

"Done a lot of that recently," James said dryly.

"Yes. Well, I'll check that we definitely are dealing with the Higson Spell, and then, all being well..." She didn't finish the statement, instead starting to incant a spell. James watched with fascination as threads of colour came out of her wand, dancing around the pair of them. Hermione stopped, her eyes darting as she followed the pattern. "Yes, it's definitely that one. Interesting. All right. This shouldn't take more than a minute or so. If you could just hold hands, that would make things easier. Thanks. Here goes."

James watched with a mixture of interest and utter bafflement as Hermione cast a spell of which he'd never heard. Of course, he knew she was one of the cleverest witches of her generation, but watching her actually use her abilities to their fullest extent – and he could see by the expression on her face of intense concentration and increasing fatigue that the spell _was_ using all of her magical strength – was slightly awe-inspiring. He could also feel something, as if cold water was being poured all over him. He shivered, and felt Teddy, next to him, shiver also. He wanted to ask him if he'd felt the same thing, but didn't quite like to interrupt his aunt's spell-casting.

At last, Hermione dropped her wand hand to her side, and gave a slightly weary smile at them both.

"Well, that's done. At least, I hope so. James, would you mind…?"

"Oh."

James dropped Teddy's hand hurriedly. It had felt nice – right – holding it. Fuck, he was totally buggered, wasn't he? Stupidly in love with his Auror partner.

"I actually wanted you to move away," Hermione said. "Just to check that you can."

"Oh," James said again. "Yeah, of course."

It still seemed wrong to move away from Teddy. Five days – no, it was now six – of staying close to him (very close, last night and this morning) had made it second nature. Nonetheless, he nodded at Hermione and Teddy, and walked over to the other side of the room. Bloody hell, he could do it. This was really weird.

"That looks like a success," Hermione said.

"Yeah," James said slowly, as Teddy nodded.

Of course it was. He didn't want to stay tethered to Teddy's side for the rest of his life, did he? And it was stopping them working, stopping them doing loads of things. This was a good thing. It was a great thing.

"Can I try going into a different room?" he asked.

"Of course!"

Was he allowed in Teddy's bedroom now they weren't – well, bonded? James told himself not to be an idiot. All of his things were in there. Of course it was all right for him to enter. He pushed open the door, realising it was the first time he'd been in there on his own. James looked at the bed, with its…decorations. They hadn't had a chance to get a proper use out of them, he thought wistfully. Now, they probably never would.

He walked back out.

"Well, that seemed to work," Teddy commented.

"Yep." James forced a smile onto his face. "Thanks, Hermione. You're amazing."

"Oh, it wasn't just me," Hermione said, though she smiled at the praise.

"So," Teddy said, "now that we're free men" – James hid a wince at the expression – "can you tell us a bit more about the spell which was on us? Higgs-Boson, didn't you say?"

Hermione laughed. "No, that's something else. The Higson Spell." She sat herself down on the arm of one of the chairs. It looked very uncomfortable to James, but he suspected that Hermione was too caught up in her explanation to think of it. "You know where you were working."

Teddy gave a little shudder. "Yeah. Dark."

James nodded.

"Yes, well, so was the spell, which made it difficult to find," Hermione admitted. "We do have a lot of records, but plenty of people are not prepared to admit that they know anything about Dark Magic – I know a great deal, incidentally; I also know there's a difference between knowing and doing – so it's always harder to find details of unusual spells. It was cast to make sure that anyone who came into there who shouldn't be there…they wouldn't be able to escape."

"Huh?" James frowned. "But they can go anywhere as long as the other person's there, surely?"

Hermione nodded, pushing brown curls back from her face. "Yes," she said, as eagerly as a child who had just discovered they were magic, "but the idea was that there would be one of the group in the house already. You were lucky to find a moment where it was totally empty -"

"Told you we shouldn't wait," James muttered to Teddy, who made his nose turn into a pig snout just for a second in reply.

"Because," she continued serenely – as mother to two children and aunt to many more, she had plenty of experience with squabbles – "the actual idea behind it was, I think, that it should be triggered deliberately by the witch or wizard with a wand spell – Teddy's collapse was a result of merely walking into it. Then, the opponent would be bound to the – well, nine out of the ten people caught were male, so let's use ‘wizard' for argument's sake" (and only Aunt Hermione, James thought, would think to put that caveat in) "– bound to the wizard, and would be kept close at hand for as long as possible."

"But what about the…um..." Bloody hell, it was more uncomfortable talking about sex with his aunt than it was with his father, James reckoned, and that despite the fact that over a decade later, he still remembered Dad's embarrassing attempt at explaining ‘the birds and bees'. " _Other_ side effects?"

Hermione shook her head. "There weren't any. I was mistaken at first into thinking that because it was a Bonding Spell – and it quite clearly was – that there was some erotic element. There usually is. But in this case, it was a simple proximity cast. The caster would feel uncomfortable when his opponent moved out of reach, and feel a need to bring him back closer – as a warning that it was happening. The opponent would be in severe pain, however. Which, as I understand it, was what happened between you?"

Teddy and James exchanged glances. James was relieved to notice that Teddy had a slight flush on his cheeks, too.

"But there was also..." James trailed off, hoping his aunt would get the point without him having to go into detail.

Hermione's eyebrows raised almost to her bushy hair. " _Was_ there?" she asked. Her lips twitched slightly as if she was controlling a smile, though at the same time, she too began to go a little pink. "Well, I think that's something the two of you will need to sort out for yourselves. Because the Bonding Spell had no such element to it." She was a clear mixture of flustered and amused.

James found himself suddenly silent, and unable to look at Teddy to get him to break the sudden gap in conversation. To his huge relief, Teddy managed for himself.

"Well, we're really grateful to have the spell removed, Hermione," he said.

No one who didn't know him well would think that there was anything amiss, but James could tell that there was an awkwardness and formality in his speech which was not usually there. Gods. He probably hated James now.

James blinked away that thought. "Yeah, thanks, Hermione," he agreed. (They'd dropped the ‘auntie' bit when he reached eighteen; Hermione had told him briskly that she was past the stage of needing to seem older than she really was.)

She smiled. "You're both very welcome. Now, I'll leave you to it. I've got so much work I ought to be doing, honestly. You would not believe the amount of – but anyway." She stopped, moving forward to pull James into a hug before going over and doing the same to Teddy, who was practically another nephew to the entire Weasley clan.

(Another nephew. Practically James's brother. _Not_ someone he should have fallen for. Definitely not someone he should have inveigled – totally without reason, as it turned out – into bed. Fuck it.)

Hermione left.

There was a long, ominous silence that James didn't know how to break. He took advantage of the bonding curse being broken to move over to the farthest possible seat from the one that Teddy had sunk down into, and ran a hand through his perennially messy hair.

"So..." Teddy began.

James knew his face was flushed. He couldn't meet Teddy's eyes, but he had to say something.

"It won't make a difference to us working together," he said quickly. "I mean, that I…you know. It's – it never did before, and it won't…affect anything. Can we just pretend this never happened, and..."

Fuck. Teddy knew. It was all James had been able to think, ever since Hermione had made it clear. James had pushed and persuaded Teddy into sleeping with him – no, this was no time for euphemisms: into _fucking_ him – and all because of a bond which was encouraging them to no such thing. Teddy couldn't help knowing about James's stupid, _stupid_ crush. Except it was more than that. James loved Teddy, couldn't help it.

"Well, that wasn't exactly where I was going with that sentence." Teddy had leaned back in his chair and was suddenly looking mildly amused. James wanted to sink through the floor, possibly yesterday. But then Teddy continued, "Jamie, do you know why I ended up triggering that spell in the first place?"

James jolted. Of all the things he was expecting Teddy to say, that wasn't it. Oh god, oh god, it was preparatory to telling him that Teddy didn't want to work with James any more. That things had been bad beforehand – that James's damn disregard for rules (Merlin, he still had to have a nice chat with Dad about that, with Dad in Severe Work Mode) had fucked Teddy off to the point that he'd missed the signs of Dark Magic.

James sagged a little on the edge of his seat. "Because I pissed you off by breaking regulations," he muttered, staring at the carpet.

Teddy laughed softly. "Because you'd taken off your robes, and your shirt was sticking right to your fucking amazing body, and the moment I saw you like that I had a boner I could've hammered nails with," he corrected. "Bloody hell, James. I wanted to say to hell with the job and fuck you over that table. So I had to walk away as quickly as possible before I did something stupid - and consequently," he added ruefully, "ended up doing something stupid."

James's head shot up at this, and he stared at Teddy. "You… I…what, seriously?"

Teddy leaned forward. "James, how do _you_ feel about this?"

"Mortified?" James mumbled, rubbing a hand against his hot cheek. He gave a half-smile. "A bit less so after you said..." He stopped, and before he could help himself, added, "No, honestly, really, that's why you turned around like that?" He was still trying to get his head around the thought that Teddy had been looking at him for some other reason than – well, to be annoyed at James's lackadaisical ways.

"You're hot, Jamie," Teddy said, his voice so matter-of-fact, he could have been discussing the weather. "Come on, you have to know that. And you're – you."

"Sorry," James said quickly.

"Aaaaaghhhh..." Teddy got up and marched over to give James a little shake. "Gods, I've been wanting to do that for years. Honestly, you spend half your time acting so cocky that I want to shake you for that, and the other half apologising for existing which makes me want to shake you for _that_ reason."

"They don't cancel each other out?" James suggested, giving Teddy a tentative smile where he stood just by him – so close, and smelling so fucking good. Fuck, he still wanted him, James thought, a trifle dizzily. More, if anything, than ever.

Teddy bent down so that his mouth was by James's ear. "More than that, though, I want to drag you into my bedroom and make love to you over and over again so that you haven't the breath for either," he murmured, his breath warm and tickling.

"Would it be..." James broke off, not able to express his feelings for Teddy. If Teddy just wanted to sleep with him…

"James," Teddy said quietly, "I – Merlin's beard and underpants, I never thought this sort of thing was supposed to be so difficult..." (James was slightly distracted considering the combination of Merlin's facial hair and underwear, but more by the close presence of Teddy himself – even though he ought to have been used to it by now, damn it.) Teddy sighed. "Look. I – you're a really close friend who I fancy more than I should, and who I know much more than I do anyone else. Plus I've spent the last six days about three inches away from you and never got sick of you. James, Jamie – put it this way, if I don't love you, I don't love anyone. God knows I've been shit about the whole thing, but…could you like me? A bit? Enough to give it a try?"

"Are you mad?" James breathed. He realised his mistake when Teddy jerked back as he spoke. James shot out an arm as if he were catching a snitch and pulled Teddy back towards him. "I've been in love with you since I was old enough to know what love was," he said, his eyes fixed on Teddy's own. "Gods, do you know what a nightmare it's been, spending time with you so close without telling you? And then, these last days… I thought I'd forced you to have sex with me, and the idea that you wanted it –"

"Fuck, I wanted it," Teddy growled, one of his hands reaching out to grab James's shoulder, his fingers digging into the flesh.

"Please, Teddy?" James said, simply.

Teddy's hair flashed dark, a symbol of uncertainty. "We could have – a relationship?"

James was a bloody Gryffindor, damn it. Once a Gryffindor, always a Gryffindor. "We bloody better," he said, hauling Teddy into a kiss.

Teddy's response was all and more that James could have asked for. He'd wondered whether it was the bond which made it _so_ good. But right now, it was – it was more than perfect, and James didn't give a damn that that was an impossibility. Teddy's lips, so soft-and-firm; his tongue, licking and entering James's mouth as if he wanted to taste all that James was. The way his hands clasped James, pulling them together, one hand in James's stupid messy hair. James moaned into Teddy's mouth, his cock rising to attention as if it were an Auror on parade. When Teddy pulled back, his lips were kiss-swollen and _beautiful_ , and his eyes were fixed on James.

"I'll take that as a yes," Teddy said.

James raised an eyebrow. "I believe you mentioned something about dragging me into your bedroom? Don't think I didn't notice the...opportunities...the bed offers."

"You'd be into that?" Teddy's eyes glinted with a feral gleam. "You kinky thing, you."

"To be honest," James said quietly, "I think I'd be into anything, as long as it was with you."

Teddy pulled him out of the chair, pressing their bodies together for an all-too-brief moment as he kissed James.

"Come to bed, then," he said.

**Author's Note:**

>  **A note on the dub-con:** James and Teddy have sex while still bonded together. James thinks that the bond is influencing Teddy's actions, but it's revealed at the end that the bond had no romantic/sexual pull, and Teddy wanted James all along.
> 
> Thank you so much for viewing! You can show your appreciation for the author in a comment here or on [livejournal](https://hp-nextgen-fest.livejournal.com/112389.html).


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